Your Speed/Distance Training Zones: 18 minute 5k
| Pace per Mile/ Km | Treadmill Pace | 400m / 800m Splits | 5km Race Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05:45 / 03:35 | 10.4 mph / 16.6 km/h | 86s / 2:52 | 17min 55s |
Your 18 minute 5k Training Plan
| Day | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Rec. Week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 30mins easy | 30mins easy | Examples | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Tuesday | Reps@3:35 per km / 90s 5:45p/m (90sec rec.) | Reps@84s per 400m/ 5:35p/m (60s rec.) | Reps@3:35 per km / 90s 5:45p/m (90sec rec.) | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Wednesday | 30mins easy | 30mins easy | 30mins easy | to include 3miles @6:00 p/m |
| Thursday | Reps@2:49 per 800m /5:40p/m (200m jog rec.) | Examples | Examples | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Friday | Rest/ Cross-train | Rest | Rest/ Cross-train | 30mins easy |
| Saturday | 30mins easy | Reps@2:49 per 800m /5:40p/m (200m jog rec.) | 30mins easy | Rest/ Cross-train |
| Sunday | Long run | Long run | Long run | Rest/ Cross-train |
18 Minute 5k Training Plan Components
Breakeven Sessions – 18 minute 5k training plan
These sessions are used for maintaining fitness & recovery. Preparing you for breakthrough sessions:
- Steady/ Easy Run – this run should be according to how you feel, don't worry about the time, make sure it's no quicker than 07:45 p/m. Concentrate on recovery and form.
- Long Run – slow & steady run, this should be less than 1 hours work.
- Fartlek – unstructured training. Example Fartlek sessions.
Breakthrough Sessions – 18 minute 5k training plan
These sessions are meant to be challenging intense efforts, treat them as mini-milestones towards your target:
- 400m Reps – these need to be at 5:35 p/m pace (84s per lap) with a 60sec standing recovery.
- 800m Reps – should be reps at 5:40p/m pace (2:49 per 800m) with a 200m jogged recovery.
- 1km Intervals – hit 5:45p/m pace (3:35 per km) with a 90sec jogged recovery.
- Hills: Kenyans/ Hill Sprints – alternate between Kenyans and Hill Sprints to get a balance of power and endurance training. Example Hill Training Sessions.
About this Plan
Remember that to even consider following this 18 minute 5k plan you should already be able to run at a target race pace of 5:45 for at least a mile (3:35 p/km) and/or have a PB under 20 minutes.
The core work for the 18 minute 5k training plan is set over a 3-week period with the addition of 1 week's recovery. At the end of the first 4-week cycle you can repeat and/or tailor the plan to your individual needs to focus on your particular 5k event.
It is recommended that after three months following the 18 minute 5k plan that you reduce your training for a period of one to two weeks to allow your body time to recover from the impact of running. This should mean more time cross-training with a couple of nice easy runs every few days to keep the legs ticking over.
How do you read this?
Tempo Run
inc. 3m @6:00 p/m
Does inc mean include? And is it 3 minutes? 3 miles? @ 6:00 p/m
Hi Andrea, apologies if it’s slightly ambiguous; I will update the page to be more specific.
It means that for your tempo run you should try and aim for 3 miles of running at 6 minute mile pace in the middle of a jogged warm-up and warm-down.
matt,
i work on a ship and can only do the treadmill based training, im following the sub 18 min 5 k program what settings and distance do you suggest i put in the treadmill for the hill sprints and fartlek training
thanks
barry
Hi matt what pace would you run your easy run at? Thanks danny
Hi Danny,
I would go for something like 6:30 pace. It doesn’t need to be a exact, but definitely no quicker than 6:20.
Cheers
Hi Matt – still wondering about the long run? A pace of no faster than 6:20 is very quick. My understanding of the long runs are mostly for time on your feet and legs. Am I reading this correct or can we do the long runs at around 8min per mile not allowing ourselves to go below 6:20p/mile. Appreciate and thanks!
Hi Kevin, yes that’s correct; no quicker than 06:20p/mile. If you are at the level of training for a 18 minute 5k then I would advise somewhere around 7 mins per mile for a long run, but certainly no quicker than 6:20 though. In my view the ‘time of your feet’ theory has merit, but perhaps less so for 5k specific training than for 10k and above. The distance and speed of the long run is very much down to personal preference, just go with whatever feels right (just don’t make it too quick!) 🙂
Cheers.
hello 🙂 Thank you very much for the perfect plan 🙂 One Question please .When you say 30 minutes easy run you mean ,Steady Run ?If this is correct you mean 30 minutes no quicker than 06:20 p/m. ? Is this correct ? Thank you 🙂
Hi, pleased you like the plana and hope you find it useful with your trainning. Yes steady/ easy run are one and the same, so no quicker than 06:20 for this one.
Thank you very much Matt 🙂 Keep up the great work 🙂
Thank you very much Matt I really aprreciate it!
Hey Matt I am a triathlete can I still achieve the goal if I mix it up with swim and bike?
Thanks
Hi Kester, yes you certainly can. You may need to look at doing two sessions per day on some days though. If you are pushed for time you could consider swapping the cross-training sessions in this plan for your swim/bikes. Make sure you keep the running speed interval sessions in though as these are key to getting your time down. If you are interested I can share my own traithlon training plan with you and you can tailor that to suit. Let me know.
Cheers.
Yes please Matt I would love to have that training plan!
Thanks
Hi Kester, no problem! I will send it over soon to the @yahoo.com address you used.
Cheers.
Thank You very much Matt!
Awesome Thanks Matt!
Matt did you send it already?
Hi Kester,
Yes aplogies for the delay; there’s a plan in your inbox.
Cheers,
Matt
Hi Matt, I would be interested in that triathlon training plan. I just run a 20:00 5k on the weekend so will give this plan a try but would be interested in how to put it all together.
Hi Joe,
Sure I can send you something that may (or may not) be useful! I’ll send it to email address you supplied when commenting when I get a mo.
Cheers.